Folchard Psalter

It was produced about 872–883 in the scriptorium of the Abbey of St. Gall, Switzerland, under the direction of the scribe Folchardus, usually modernized as Folchard or Folchart.

Curiously, Folchardus is not mentioned in the Casus of Ekkehard IV, making his biography obscure and incomplete.

Folchardus penned, on folios 26–27, the following inscription: "Hunc praeceptoris Hartmoti iussa secutus/ Folchardus studuit rite patrare librum" ("Following the orders of Abbot Hartmut/ Folchart endeavoured to complete this book according to rules).

Portraits of the tonsured Folchardus, holding the Psalter and bowing towards the abbot (far left side of tympanum painting of King David receiving his harp) and Abbot Harmut prepared to receive the Psalter with open arms (far right side of tympanum painting of the Ark of the Covenant transported by an oxen drawn wagon) are each found on the extreme ends of the folio on either side of the centralized bust of Christ in the spandrel on the “Dedication Page” on folio 12.

The initial letter Q of Psalm 51 (52) is often cited as a masterpiece of late Carolingian illumination.